UConn AD Optimistic About Program's Future

"We are going to continue to be great," the UConn athletic director told the audience at the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce breakfast Tuesday. "No conference is going to define who we are."

These are, of course, troublesome times for UConn, which to this point has been left on the outside looking in on conference realignment. The Huskies will be playing in the new American Athletic Conference, which includes Cincinnati and South Florida of the old Big East and a slate of new, unfamiliar opponents. More troublesome, the new conference had to settle for TV rights deals that will net less revenue than UConn has made in the past and far less than those schools that have been invited to major conferences, such as the ACC or Big Ten.

In the short term, UConn's intake will be supplemented by exit fees paid by teams that left the old Big East, and proceeds from the sale of the old Big East brand. On Monday, ACC presidents signed a grant of media rights agreement that is intended to hold that conference together and perhaps halt conference realignment, but it remains unclear how that agreement will affect UConn's future.

After his speech, Manuel explained to The Courant how he reconciles the goal of continuing to compete for championships with less money coming in.

"We have to sell tickets," he said. "We have to raise money. We have to do the things that we need to do to keep driving. We were making less money before than the big boys and we were winning national titles in men's basketball, women's basketball. Going to the BCS [in football]. We've always been in that position, but it was even worse back in the '90s when we started winning national championships and Big East championships. I can't worry about that."

"It has never been an excuse at UConn and it's not going to be an excuse going forward. I'm not going to start crying, 'Oh, there are a lot of people making more money than us.' You know what? There are a lot of teams making more money than us that never won anything. Quote me on that."

Manuel, who has been on the job for a little more than a year, was still exuberant over UConn's national championship in women's basketball and the positive energy surrounding the men's basketball team after its 20-10 season under first-year coach Kevin Ollie.

When Jim Calhoun retired last September, Manuel received a lot of criticism for giving Ollie, whom Calhoun wanted as his successor, a one-season contract as an audition. He gave Ollie a five-year extension on Dec. 29.

"I was wrong and you all were right," Manuel said. "But the person who was right was Jim Calhoun, who believed in Kevin, who knew him and knew what kind of person he is, what kind of coach he could be."

Manuel said that "details were still being worked out" on Calhoun's role at UConn, but he has no doubt that Calhoun, who turns 71 in May, will remain involved.

Conference realignment is driven by football. Last Saturday, UConn's spring football event drew a small crowd to Rentschler Field. Manuel was not fazed by it.

"We can always make improvements to the experience," he said. "Really, it's about opening the gates to let the fans come in and enjoy themselves. Spring games have really turned into controlled scrimmages. Players get hurt during spring ball, they're recovering from injuries in the fall. It becomes very difficult to have a full-on game. We'll take a look at everything. We have gotten some feedback. We'll see what we can do to make the experience better. A lot of people said they loved the fact we opened it up and let them come down on the field and meet the team."

He told the fans, though, that UConn football, specifically the Huskies' offense, "will be different, will be better. You'll be excited [next season]." Joking about the new, somewhat controversial UConn logo, he asked fans to envision the football helmets "coming right at you."